I haven’t been able to catch up this week since being out in Los Angeles for the Lightbox Expo. It was a lot of fun to see old friends, and the panel I was on had some really good things to say as well. Afterwords I had some really good conversations with some folks that also teach, and a few Thunderbean fans as well. Thanks much to everyone that attended that!

I spent a good amount of time on this trip over at “The Vault”, organizing a whole much of films and figuring out next steps for them. When I got back home I could still smell the vinegar syndrome on my clothes! Film isn’t always forever, but we’re really lucky some things have lasted as long as they have.

Speaking of Halloween, as we were headed to the airport in an Uber, my phone blew ups from several people giving me the happy news that the first Thunderbean cartoon offerings were shown on MeTV Toons. It was a Van Beuren Tom & Jerry, Wot A Night, and it was screened as part of a special Halloween edition of Sunday’s Cartoon All Stars block. There’s a bunch more to come, and I’m so happy that some of our films are making it to a much bigger audience than has seen them in years. When was the last time a Van Beuren cartoon was actually broadcast? We’re super excited for this new venture, and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them to bring many more shorts in addition to this first big batch.

Now — Onto this week’s Cartoon!!

Although not officially Halloween just yet, Halloween cartoons are fun to watch at this time of year, and this is one that I hadn’t really seen too much of for many years.

Boos in the Nite (1950) is pretty standard fare for Famous Studios around 1950, and even though the song sequence isn’t a highlight as it is in others, but it’s still a fun little ride. Silly ghost gags abound, and one gag even includes ‘It’s a Hap-hap-happy Day’ from Gulliver’s Travels. The most fun sequence features ‘Spook Jones and his Seven Creeps’ with the invisible band members playing their instruments, leading to a series of sauced-up ghosts jumping out of a Barrel still and dancing to the music as they morph into various things. It’s an especially creative sequence that happens just before a pretty boring sing-along version. A guest appearance at the end featuring Peter Lorre feel like you’re watching a different cartoon right at the end- and makes you wish Famous had done something more along those lines for a whole cartoon.

The print itself isn’t great, juts a standard red NTA print that I’ve tried to color correct a little bit. Hope you enjoy it anyway, and Happy Halloween!